Good for Bush in this case. Messing with the navy's readiness and fighting ability over things that could happen to a few whales is stupid. Now if it ends in a mass beaching and threatens an entire whale species I could see it but not this. They even have whale precautions they already take.

LOS ANGELES - Conservationists on Wednesday blasted President Bush's decision to exempt the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using high-power sonar in its training off Southern California — a practice they say harms whales and other marine mammals.

The president's action by itself won't allow the anti-submarine warfare training to go forward because an injunction is in place, but the Navy believes it will significantly strengthen its argument in court. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is expected to make a determination on the future of the Navy exercises on Friday.

The White House announced Bush signed the exemption Tuesday while traveling in the Middle East. In his memorandum, Bush said the Navy training exercises "are in the paramount interest of the United States" and its national security.

Peter Douglas, the executive director of the California Coastal Commission, which joined in the lawsuit to provide the mammals greater protections from sonar, called the exemption unprecedented in California.

"I'm not surprised at all," he said. "It's typical for this Republican administration to ignore environmental protections under the banner of fear."

Attorneys for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has been fighting the Navy's sonar training, said the group would file papers with the appeals court to challenge Bush's exemption.

"The president's action is an attack on the rule of law," said Joel Reynolds, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Santa Monica. "By exempting the Navy from basic safeguards under both federal and state law, the president is flouting the will of Congress, the decision of the California Coastal Commission and a ruling by the federal court."

Pale Rider

01-17-2008, 08:59 AM

As if California doesn't do exactly what it wants in complete disregard for federal law. The first time somebody does something they don't like, they squeal like a stuck pig. How hypocritical... but then we already knew that's the way liberals operate.

California HATES the military. We all know that, and it's no surprize they're going to do whatever they can to stand in the way of anything the military does. Fuck California.... sorry manu.

Classact

01-17-2008, 09:52 AM

Maybe the conservationists can take up a collection for some modified sound blocking headsets for the whales? If we don't get ME oil secure or drill in the US we're going to be needing whale oil for our lamps anyway.